Loading and unloading machine.



' PATENTBD SEPT. 12, 1905. 8.. MUNSON. LOADING AND UNLOADING MACHINE.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 11' V //V VE/VTOR Jwezzcyflfzuwan APPLICATION FILED OUT. 24, 1904.

WITNESSES:

PATENTBD SEPT. 12, 1905.

S. MUNSON. LOADING AND UNLOADING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OOT. 24,1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ATTORNEYS N V E N TO I? weney Jfzuzsazz TIME earns NJ OFFICE.

SWENEY MUNSON, OF FOWLER, COLORADO. LOADING AND LlNLQADlNG MACHINE.

- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 12, 1905,.

Application filed October 24, 1904. Serial No. 229,800. I

convenient, eflicient, and inexpensive means which can be mounted upon an ordinary flat or coal car for unloading rails therefrom or transferring them thereto.

.Further objects of the invention are to provide the apparatus with means for readily operating it from a single station and providing for allemergencies which may happen in the operation of such a device.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l'is aside elevation of an ordinary car with a preferred form of my invention applied thereto and part of the car being broken away to show the construction of the invention. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4: is a perspective view of a detail.

10 represents the body of .the'car. It may be a fiat-car, coal-car,,or any other car employed for carrying the articles to be loaded andunloaded. The knuckle 11 of the car is formed in the usual manner, and the opening through it is provided with a bolt 12, which is secured to it in anydesired manner. Piv: otally supported from this boltis a frame 13, extending in a generalupward direction and provided with a bracket 14, capable of sliding longitudinally thereon. The frame and bracket'are held with respect to each other by means of a pin 15, passing through any one of aseries of perforations 16- in the frame. A pair of side braces 17 are pivotally connected with the bracket and with feet 18, mounted upon the sides of the car. These feet 18 are connected by a chain or chains 19, passing across the car and preferably capable of sagging slightly below the feet. This connection is designed to support a boom 20, which is ivoted to the connection and extends in a for-.

wardly-inclined direction to an eye 21, which is in turn pivotally supported by a" guy-rod 22, this guy-rod being in turn pivotally connected at 23 to the bracket 14. A book 24'is suspended from the eye 21 and in turn suspends a pair of double-sleeve pulleys 25, over which passes a rope, cable, or chain 26. The

lower one of the pulleys is pivoted to an eye 27, to which the end of the connection 26 is joined, and to this eye are connected a pair of chains 28, extending in opposite directions and connected at their outer ends with eyes 29, rigidly mounted upon ahar 30, and upon the endsof this bar are mounted a pair of double-jointed rail-hooks 31, which may be of any ordinary or desired construction.

It will be obvious that the pulleys 25 and connection 26. constitute means for raising andlowering the bar 30, with its hooks and any load that maybe attached thereto. For they purpose of manipulating the connection 26 a drum 32 is provided and is supplied with a'gear 33, meshing with a gear or pinion 34 upon a motors'haft 35. ed upon this shaft, may be operated by any ordinary source of power; but I pr'efer to use anair-motor and supply it from an air-pipe 37. This air-pipe is supplied with a valve at 38, having a lever 38, and with acoupling 39. The drum 32 is provided with a ratchet-wheel A motor 36, mount- L0 and a pawl41 for preventing it from moving backward except when the pawl is disengaged by the operator, and a brake 42, which is operated by a'handle 43. A crank 44: is

also placed upon the shaft 35 to permit operation by hand when the motor is not employed, and a platform 45 is mounted upon the frame 13 for the use of the operator.

. It is believed that theoperation of a device constructed in accordance with the principle above indicated will be obvious; but'I will describe it'in detail.

The machine-is setup on a coal or flat car, as desired, and the air-line is coupled upin an obvious manner, so that everything is in readiness for the operation. The crew .preferably consists of five menone on each side of the car, on the ground to release the hooks from the rails when unloading, two men in the car to get the rails ready and hook them on, and one man on the platform 45 to operate the motor. The-men in the car book a rail onto the rail-hooks 31, and the operator on the platform 45 then turns the lever 38" to with it.

wind up the flexible connection 26 and draw the lower pulley 25 upward, carrying the rail tion above the sides of the car, as indicated in Fig. 1, the men in the car swing the boom outwardly about the pivot 23 and the point at which the boom is attached to the chains 19. As soon as the rail reaches a point directly over the position at which it is desired to deposit it the operator on the platform 45 shuts off the air from the motor by means of the lever 38, disengages the pawl I 5 41, and applies the brake 42 by means of the handle 4:3. The rail then obviously descends by gravity, checked by the brake 42, and is deposited in the desired position on the ground. The man on thatside of the car then releases 2c the hooks from the rail. and the operator reverses the operation and draws the hooks up into the car again, assisted by a man in the car to swing the boom. Obviously the usual custom would be to first unload one rail on 'one side and then anotheron the other side and to then move forward the length of a rail or thereabout before another one is deposited, the locomotive acting to move the whole car. The machine of course would be transferred from one car'to another when it has emptied the one upon which it was placed. In order to uncouple the machine from the car, the pipe 37 is uncoupled at 39, the feet 18 are loosened from the sides of the car, and the bolt 12 is removed from the knuckle 11.

It will. be readily understood that the bracket 14. may be adjusted to any desired position with respect to the frame 13 by simply changing the pin 15 from one hole 16 to another to accommodate cars of different heights. It will also be perceived that this apparatus is very simple in construction and easy to operate, that it contains few parts liable to get out of order, and that by constructing the principal parts of piping the device will be very light and strong, as well as economical.

While I. have illustrated and described a particular embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that the latter is not limited to that embodiment, but may be constructed in many other forms and that many modifications may be made in the form shown without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent--- 1. In a loading and unloading machine, the combination of a frame, adapted to be pivotally mounted upon the knuckle of the car, a

bracket slidingly mounted upon said frame, means for fixing said bracket to the frame a guy-rod pivotally connected to the frame, a boom connected to the outer end of the guy- 5 rod and supported from the frame, gripping- As soon as the rail reaches a posi-' hooks mov ably supported from the end of the boom, and means for raising and lowering said hooks.

2. In a loading and unloading machine, the combination of a frame adapted to be pivotally mounted upon the knuckle of a car, a bracket slidingly mounted upon said frame, means for fixing said bracket to the frame, a guy-rod pivotally connected with the bracket, braces pivotally connected with the bracket, a boom connected with said braces at one end and withthe guy-rod at the other, a hoisting device supported upon said boom, and means on the frame for raising-and lowering said hoisting device. v

3. In a loading and unloading machine, the combination with a frame pivotally mounted near the bottom thereof in a nearly-vertical position, of a bracket adjustabl'y mounted upon said frame, a boom supported by said bracket, a hoisting device connected with the outer end of said boom, a motor mounted on the frame and provided with a drum, a flexible connection between the drum and the'hoist ing device, and handbperated means for turning said drum when the motor is out of operative connection therewith.

4:. In a loading and unloading machine, the combination with a frame pivotally mounted nearthe bottom thereof in a nearly-vertical position, of a bracket adjustably mounted upon said frame, a boom supported by said bracket, a hoisting device connected with the outer end of said boom, a motor mounted on the frame and provided with a drum, a flexi: ble connection between the drum and the hoisting device, hand-operated means for turning said drum when the motor is out of operative connection therewith, a brake upon said drum and a lever for setting said brake, a lever for controlling the application of power to the motor, and a platform mounted upon the said frame and within reach of the said levers and ofsaid hand opcratcd means for operating the drum.

5. The combination with a car having a knuckle in the draw-bar thereof, of a bolt pass ing through said knuckle and adapted to be secured thereto, a frame pivotally mounted with respect to said bolt, a boom supported in part by the sides of said car and in part by said frame, a hoisting device supported by said boom, and means oh the frame for manipulating said hoisting device.

6. The combination with a car having a knuckle in the draw-bar thereof, of a bolt passing into said knuckle and adapted to be s'ecured thereto, a frame pivotal ly mounted with respect to said bolt, a hoisting device supported by said frame, and means on the frame for manipulating said hoisting device.

7. The combination with a car having a knuckle in the draw-bar thereof, and a bolt passing into said knuckle and adapted to be secured thereto 'of a frame adapted to be pivotally mounted upon the knuckle, a bracket slidingly mounted upon said frame, means for fixing said bracket to the frame, a boom connected with the frame, and a hoisting device supported by said boom.

8.-The combination with a car having a knuckle in the draw-bar thereof, and a bolt passing into said knuckle and adapted to be near the bottom thereof in an inclined posi- 1 tion, of a bracket adjustably' mounted upon,

said frame, a boom supported by said' bracket,

and a hoisting device connected with the outer end of the boom. 1

10. In a loading and unloading machine, the

combination with a frame pivotally mounted near the bottom thereof. in an inclined position', of a bracket adjustably mounted upon said frame, a boom supported by said bracket, a hoisting-device connected with the outer end of the boom, a drum,'a flexible-connection ber tween the 'drum and the hoisting device, handoperated means for turning said drum, a brake upon said drum, and a lever for setting said brake. I

11. The combination of ahoisting device, a drum, a flexible connection between the drum and the hoisting device, a motor for turning said drum by means of the flexible connection, hand-operated means for turning the drum when the motor is out of operative connection therewith, a brake upon said drum, a lever for setting said brake, and a lever for controlling the application of power to the motor.

12. The combination of a hoisting device, a' motor provided with a drum, a flexible connection between the drum and. the hoisting device, hand-operated means for turning said drum when the motor is out of operative connection therewith, a brake upon said drum, a

, scribing witnesses.

SWENEY MUN SON.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR L. MUNSON, LESLIE L. MUNSON; 

